Even without waitlist, easier sign-ups near
For months, San Antonians have endured another sort of “COVID-19 fatigue” — the mental drain of trying to secure a vaccine.
It goes like this: refreshing browser tabs; redialing 311; checking incoming text messages while wishing for an appointment to open up with one of Metro Health’s providers.
Readers have also told the Express-news they’ve enlisted family, friends and neighbors in the hunt, and have praised waitlists in other communities — from Schertz to Houston — that deliver quick results, even if they require a daytrip.
On Tuesday, the city’s Community Health and Equity Committee again debated establishing a vaccine registry as San Antonio remains the only big city in Texas without one. At this point, let’s call it a missed opportunity — one that would have eased anxiety in the early months of vaccine distribution. The White House is launching a call center and a website — Vaccinefinder.gov — set to go live May 1 to help the public register with vaccination sites near them.
President Joe Biden’s initiative to “get the nation closer to normal by July Fourth” also includes shifting its distribution policy to deliver more than 81 million vaccinations to Americans in seven weeks. One-third of vaccines would go to retail pharmacies, and the remainder to hospitals, health care systems and 900 community centers that would receive up to $80 per fully vaccinated person. This likely will make a local waitlist unnecessary.
Still, without a waitlist, San Antonio deserves a pat on the back. Its texting service, which allow residents to sign up for alerts as new appointments open, has bigger potential: The city already has partnerships with providers like those Biden describes. Waiting for Vaccinefinder.gov to launch might work in San Antonio’s favor. Registries in other Texas cities have their limitations: Residents who sign up in Austin — as well in Harris and Dallas counties — must manually complete appointments, as Expressnews reporter Joshua Fechter has outlined. Even a state-level effort wouldn’t guarantee success; after Massachusetts expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine last month, its website crashed. More and easier vaccine appointments by summertime? Hopefully in May, we’ll start hearing more sighs of relief than busy signals.